Level 4 Hour 2 Update: Last Hour of the Day
Jul 03, '09
Blinds: 150-300 with a 25 ante
Players Remaining: 921 out of 1116
Chip Counts:
1. Redmond Lee – 130,000
2. James Navlanic – 100,000
3. Bryan Colin – 98,000
4. Jason Riesenberg – 92,000
5. Domen Pinteric – 90,000
6. Dragan Gelic – 88,000
7. Jason Alexander – 84,500
8. Eli Elezra – 84,300
9. Chris Demaci – 80,000
10. David Sands – 80,000
Notable Eliminations:
Jerry Yang, Perry Friedman, Darryl Dicken, Orel Hershiser, David Grey, Isaac Haxton, Andy Bloch
Big Hands:
Tilly Can’t Win A Flip
The player in seat 4 raised to 800 and Jennifer Tilly made the call. The player in seat 9 then moved all in for 13,000 and seat 4 mucked. Tilly then took a session in the tank and decided to make the call.
Seat 9: 3
3
Tilly: A9
Board: Q
62J4
Tilly was in a race situation with two overcards but could not connect and she was down to 12,000 in chips.
Hansen Picks Up Aces, Takes Pot
Gus Hansen was in the big blind and was battling with the small blind. On the river the board read 62KJ7 and there was already over 10,000 in the pot.
The small blind checked over to Hansen, who bet 4450. The small blind tanked for a minute or so before begrudgingly tossing in the call. Hansen showed the AA and his opponent in the small blind just shook his head and mucked his hand.
Johnny Chan Doubles Up, Cripples Steve Paul-Ambrose
Johnny Chan got all of his chips in the middle preflop against Steve Paul-Ambrose. With his tournament life on the line, Chan tabled AK and was way ahead of the AQ of Ambrose.
The board ran out J223A, which was not good enough for Steve Paul-Ambrose, and gave Chan the pot. Chan doubled to 14,000, but Ambrose was left with just 6000
Andy Black Takes A Pot
On a flop of 953, Andy Black bet 1,200 and his opponent in seat 2 made the call. The turn was the 7 and Black fired another 3,000. Seat 2 decided to muck his hand and Black took the pot, improving his stack to 66,000.
Naujoks Lives To Fight Again
Picking up the action on the river, the board read Q9946, Sandra Naujoks fired 8,100 into the pot. The player in seat 3 then raised to 63,000, having Naujoks well covered.
Naujoks then took a long tank session to decide whether to commit her remaining 18,750 into the pot. After a couple of minutes, she finally decided to release her hand.
David Grey Busts
David Grey was all in against his opponent. Grey was holding 85 and flopped two pair as it fell J85. However, his opponent made a flush and Grey was ousted from the main event.
Straight Flushed
With over 12,000 in the pot preflop, the flop came down 532. Mike Sexton moved all in and his opponent made the call. Sexton tabled 54 for top pair and a straight flush draw while his opponent tabled 33 for a set. The turn made Sexton his flush as the 8 fell. The river then brought the 6, making Sexton a straight flush to add insult to injury as his opponent was eliminated and Sexton was up to 40,000.
Andy Bloch Loses Race and Ends Main Event Run
After a middle position limper, a short stacked Andy Bloch moved all in for his remaining chips. The limper ended up calling Bloch’s all in and showed 44 and was racing against Bloch’s AJ.
The flop was 8KQ, giving Bloch a straight draw to go along his overcards. The turn gave Bloch more outs as it was the Q. Bloch was unable to catch a K, 8, 10, J, or A on the river as the 7 fell and eliminated him from the tournament.
Player Tags: Gus Hansen, Johnny Chan, Mike Sexton, Jennifer Tilly, Andy Black, Steve Paul Ambrose, Sandra Naujoks
Level 4 Hour 1 Update: Jerry Yang Eliminated
Jul 03, '09
Blinds: 150-300 with a 25 ante
Players Remaining: 921 out of 1116
Chip Counts:
1. Dragan Galic – 110,000
2. Jeff Williams – 100,000
3. Jeremy Ausmus – 88,000
4. Radek Stockner – 88,000
5. Eli Elezra – 84,300
6. Kevin Stammen – 74,000
7. Bryan Colin – 72,000
8. Michael Kamran – 72,000
9. Allyn Jaffrey Shulman – 40,000
10. Barry Shulman – 28,500
Notable Eliminations:
Jerry Yang, Perry Friedman, Darryl Dicken
Big Hands:
Jerry Yang Eliminated
A short stacked Jerry Yang was all in preflop with J7 and was up against his opponent’s AK. Yang caught a good flop when it came 789, but the K on the turn put Yang in a bad spot.
Yang’s fate was sealed as the 4 fell on the river. Yang’s quest for a a second main event title will have to be postponed for at least another year.
Mark Gregorich Takes A Pot
On a board showing 10535, Mark Gregorich and his opponent checked with the pot around 4,000. The river was then the K and the action was checked to Gregorich. He bet 3,500 and his opponent went into the tank. After some thought, he said, “I’ll let you have it,” and mucked his cards. Gregorich raked in the pot and he was at 41,300.
By George!
The player in seat 6 opened the action for a raise to 1,150 and action folded around to Jason Alexander. He then reraised to 3,200 and seat 6 made the call. The flop then fell J52 and the action was checked to Alexander. He fired 6,000 and seat 6 came over the top, moving all in for 26,500. Alexander took a session in the tank and then pushed in the call.
Seat 6 showed 86 for a made flush and Alexander turned over 1010. He needed a lot of help and the J paired the board on the turn. The river then brought the J, giving Alexander a backdoor full house and the massive pot. He was at 84,500 after the hand.
Brad Garrett then had a little fun with his friend. “Wow,” he started. “As bad as your game is buddy, that’s incredible.” The table had a laugh and Alexander left his chips strewn about in front of him. “I’ll be back,” he joked, pretending to walk away from the table. “Yeah, to the pharmacy,” Garrett joked again. After all of this, Garrett forgot to input his ante and the dealer asked him to do it. “I’m sorry sweetheart,” he said. “Can I just get a minute to absorb what just happened.” Garrett then placed his ante in and play continued.
Duthie Shows Some Heart
Picking up the action on the turn, action was checked to John Duthie with the board showing Q7510. He fired a bet of 2,000 and his three opponents quickly mucked. Duthie took in the pot, but was still below his starting stack with just 20,000 in chips.
Michael Gracz Doubles His Opponent
Michael Gracz called his opponent’s all in bet, totaling around 24,000. Here were their hands.
Gracz: AK
Opponent: JJ
Board: J536A
Gracz hit his ace, but unfortunately for him it was after his opponent flopped a set. Gracz took a hit down to 50,000.
Those Flush Draws Will Cost You
After a flop of 724, Steve-Paul Ambrose called his opponent’s all in bet of about 21,000. Ambrose showed J9 for a flush draw, but his opponent held AA and Ambrose needed help. The turn was the 2 and the river was the 5 and Ambrose lost a big chunk of his stack, going down to 15,000.
Affleck Gets Opponent to Fold a Set
Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, the winner of the $3000 SCOOP event on PokerStars, and his opponent on the button got in 5600 preflop and took a flop of AKQ. Affleck bet 6500 and was called by the player on the button.
The turn was the 4 and Affleck bet 11,200 and was called. The river was the 5 and Affleck bet 24,000 of his 26,000 stack. The player on the button stood up and announced that he had a set and was seriously considering folding it. “This is disgusting,” said the player on the button as he agonized with his decision.
Finally, after a few minutes of thought, he tossed the QQ face up into the muck. Even though the entire table begged Affleck to show his hand, he did not oblige and tossed his hand into the muck without showinig.
Left In The Deck:
There were 1,116 players in day 1a for this year’s main event. This is down just slightly from last year’s numbers, as there were 1,297 players in 2008.
Player Tags: Michael Gracz, Mark Gregorich, Steve Paul Ambrose, Jerry Yang, Jason Alexander
Steve Paul Ambrose Goes Sailing
Team PokerStars pro and former 
Will Failla moved all in from middle position and Steve Paul-Ambrose moved all in behind him.